Online literacy program connects 3rd to 5th graders with adult eMentors and great books

In2Books, a research-based, e-mentoring literacy program, is available for free to all 3rd -5th grades in Title I schools for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Carefully-screened adults (eMentors) are matched with 3rd-5th grade students. Students choose the books from a list compiled by national children’s literature experts and with their eMentors, read the same books in five different genres (fiction, social studies, biography, traditional tales, and science). Through online letters, the students and their adult pen pals discuss important issues about the five books.

All children are entitled to this engaging, ambitious, and rewarding learning experience. What makes it so special? In2Books offers just the right mix of crucial learning elements: it’s online, popular with students and teachers, field tested (over the past 10 years) and very effective.

Dedicated websites – Student Place, Pen Pal Place, and Teacher Place – offer coaching tips, sample letters, genre content and vocabulary lists from every book. Research has shown that thousands of prior In2Books students have outperformed their peers on standardized reading tests. Even more importantly, students’ motivation and appreciation for learning increase.